Yet there is no reason that the spirit of classical culture and the durable elements of Greek and Roman life should not be as well acquired--nay, better--from the study of history, archaeology, and literature.

For this language work is not study of literature.

Not one in one hundred of the students who are forced through the periodical examinations in these languages ever gets any insight into their aesthetic quality or any inspiration from their form.
But more than this.

At least one positively vicious effect follows from language study with grammar and lexicon, no matter what the language be.

The habit of intellectual guessing grows with the need of continuous effort in putting together elements which go together for no particular reason.